My Sharepoint Files Are Read Only

Dear @Aditya Yadav,

I understand that having your SharePoint files suddenly become read-only both in the browser and the OneDrive app is disruptive, especially when you don't know what changed.

Based on your description (cannot upload, delete, or edit anything), this is almost caused by one of two issues. Let me walk you through how to identify and fix them.

If your entire SharePoint site is suddenly read-only and you cannot upload or delete anything, the most probable cause is that your organization has exceeded its total storage quota. When this happens, Microsoft puts SharePoint sites into a read-only state across the board. Look for a banner or message at the top of your SharePoint site that says something like "Your organization's storage is full. SharePoint sites are read-only right now. Contact your IT department for more info".

Only your Microsoft 365 administrator can resolve this. They will need to either:

• Free up space by deleting old/unneeded files.
• Purchase additional storage for your organization.
• Add more user licenses (each license adds 10GB to the shared storage pool).

If you are not the admin, please contact your IT department or Microsoft 365 administrator immediately and let them know your SharePoint is in read-only mode due to what appears to be a storage issue.

Please refer to this document: Manage site storage limits in SharePoint in Microsoft 365 - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft…

If storage is not the issue, then your account permissions may have been changed to Read-Only on the site or library.

Ask your SharePoint administrator to:

1. Go to the site > Settings > Site permissions > Advanced permissions
2. Use "Check Permissions" and enter your email address
3. Verify you have a permission level that includes Edit, Contribute, or Full Control

Your administrator will need to grant you appropriate permissions (Edit or Contribute) on the affected site and document library.

Please refer to this document: Customize permissions for a SharePoint list or library - Microsoft Support

While waiting for your admin, you can check a few things yourself:

• Try a different site: Can you edit files in a different SharePoint site? If yes, the issue is isolated to one specific site. If all sites are read-only, it points to a tenant-level storage or lock issue.
• Confirm your license is active: Ensure your Microsoft 365 license hasn't expired, as unlicensed accounts often become read-only.

If you are a regular user (not an admin): Contact your Microsoft 365 administrator or IT department immediately. Share this message with them: "My SharePoint sites are read-only across browser and OneDrive. I cannot upload or delete files. Please check if our tenant storage is full or if my permissions were changed."

If you are an administrator: Check your SharePoint Admin Center for storage usage. If storage is the issue, you can unlock sites temporarily using PowerShell: Set-SPOSite -Identity "https://yourdomain.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename" -LockState "Unlock"

Please refer to the code snippet at: SharePoint or OneDrive read-only error messages - SharePoint | Microsoft Learn

Please let me know if you have administrator access to your Microsoft 365 environment, as that will determine which specific steps you can take. If you're a standard user, please contact your IT team as they are the only ones who can resolve tenant-level storage or permission issues.

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When SharePoint and OneDrive suddenly become read-only (cannot upload, edit, or delete), the most common causes are:

1. Site or tenant is locked/read-only by admin or service
   If all sites and OneDrive are read-only (no upload/delete anywhere):

• The site may have a lock state set (e.g., Read-only) at the admin level. This shows messages like “SharePoint sites are read-only right now while we do some maintenance.”
• An admin must change the lock state back to Unlock by following Change the lock state for a site from the admin center or PowerShell.
• If the site is not locked, there may be tenant-level maintenance or restriction. An admin should check:
  • Message center in Microsoft 365 admin center for maintenance or restriction notices.
  • Service Health Dashboard for any SharePoint/OneDrive incidents.

2. Permissions changed to read-only
   If others can still edit but one account cannot:

• The account may now only have Read permission on the library/site.
• Ask the SharePoint or Microsoft 365 admin to verify that the account still has Edit/Contribute permissions on the affected sites and libraries.

3. Library or file-level restrictions
   Even with correct permissions, some settings can make content behave as read-only:

• Libraries with Checkout Required, Validation columns/metadata, or Draft Item Security set to “Only users who can edit/approve items” will sync as read-only in OneDrive.
• An admin or site owner should review the library’s Versioning Settings and Advanced settings to see if these options are causing read-only sync.

4. Unlicensed or blocked OneDrive account
   If files are in a personal OneDrive for work or school and you see messages about unlicensed or blocked accounts:

• The OneDrive account may be unlicensed or past the allowed grace period.
• An admin must either assign a valid license to that user or move the content to a licensed SharePoint site.

5. Storage quota exceeded
   If the site or OneDrive has run out of space:

• For OneDrive: check storage by selecting the OneDrive icon in the notification area and choosing Manage storage, or sign in to https://onedrive.live.com and check used space. If it is full, free up space or ask an admin to increase quota.
• For SharePoint sites: if the site storage limit is exceeded, an admin must increase the site quota and then try again.

6. Local file attributes (if only some files are read-only)
   If only certain synced files are read-only on the PC:

• Right-click an affected file in File Explorer → Properties.
• If Read-only is checked, uncheck it and select OK.
• If there is an Unblock button, select it.

7. Office or client issues
   If files open but only in read-only mode in Word/Excel/etc.:

• Ensure Office is activated and the subscription is not expired; otherwise Office may be in Reduced Functionality Mode and only allow read-only.
• If the issue persists across all documents, perform an Online repair of Office.

If none of the above applies and everything is read-only across SharePoint and OneDrive, a tenant-level restriction or lock is most likely, and a Microsoft 365 admin must check the admin center and, if needed, open a support ticket with Microsoft.

References:

• SharePoint or OneDrive read-only error messages
• SharePoint files open as read-only
• Unable to delete items in SharePoint and OneDrive
• Permissions needed to upload files in OneDrive for work or school